Well, it looks like someone's been reading my Scandal/Empire crossover fan fiction. Who doesn't love watching their favorites have a girl hang with mix tapes and dance parties? Did you catch the Apple Music ads during the Emmy Awards? The ads star Kerry Washington, Mary J. Blige, and Taraji P. Henson. In my opinion, Henson was the MVP of the Emmy Awards when it came to having a great time, and this series of commercials, in which the three women play themselves going through a box of mixtapes, reminiscing about old times, and jamming to Apple Music, just sealed the deal.
Call it the #squadgoals effect, but I have never been more willing to sign up for a subscription service. There was the perfect balance of nostalgia, improvisation, and relevant information about Apple's new feature. Mad Men may not have won Best Drama, but the advertising execs on the series would be proud. It's hard to humanize something so mechanical, but Apple nailed it.
Does it get better? Oh, it gets better. Not only are the three stars in front of the camera out of this world, but the commercials were directed by Ava DuVernay! Amazing! And the perfect pairing for a night that was so wonderful for black women in Hollywood in particular. Even Shonda Rhimes, Queen of Television, was getting some major FOMO (in the best way) from the commercials:
Need to revisit, or watch it whenever you need to be cheered up? Here is one of the ads in all its air-drumming, friendship loving, music celebrating glory. Let's all live vicariously through these ladies! Now, if only I could think up a scenario in which Olivia Pope teams up with Cookie Lyon...
